7th Hole Becomes A Horror Story For Decker

JAMES CITY (COUNTY) — For one agonizing hole here Friday morning Keith Decker stood in for everyone who's ever butchered a sleeve of Titleists.

Witness his embarrassing 5-over-par 10 on the 516-yard seventh hole during the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic at Kingsmill.

Said Decker, a good-natured, bespectacled amateur from Martinsville: "I thought it would never end."

Decker, the lone amateur in the 150-player field, had birdied the same hole Thursday. He was 1-under through the first six holes Friday, with a good chance to make the cut.

Then came No. 7.

"I didn't want to hit the ball right, so I duck-hooked it left, out of bounds," Decker said matter of factly. "My second drive (his third shot after teeing up another ball) was right in the middle of the fairway."

But his troubles had just begun.

His fourth shot sailed high into the trees on the left, kicked into a hazard and was lost. He dropped in deep grass ("A terrible lie," he called it), then skulled his sixth shot over the green. He took four more strokes to get up and down in 10.

Decker promptly bogeyed No. 8, parred Nos. 9 and 10, then bogeyed No. 11. He closed with a birdie at No. 18, flipped a ball to a nearby kid and said pleasantly, "Play good with it."

Asked what he learned this week, the 29-year-old Elon College graduate said, "I learned that I don't belong out here. These guys are so good, so consistent. They're by far well above me. I have no desire to be a pro. If so, I would have done it years ago, out of college."

Despite the glaring 10 and his 7-over 149, Decker will take home good memories.

NO DOUBLE-EAGLE

Remember Bill Britton's rare double-eagle 2 Thursday on the par-5 third hole? Friday (ho-hum), he merely parred the hole. Thursday, Britton followed the double-eagle with a double-bogey six on No. 4. Friday, he parred the 4th. Net result: Thursday, he needed eight shots to play Nos. 3 and 4. Friday, he needed nine to get through the same two holes.

WIEBE MISSES CUT

Mark Wiebe was the only former ABGC champion to miss the cut Friday. The '85 champion shot 1-under-70 Thursday, then skied to a 3-over 74 Friday. At 2-over 144, he missed the cut by three shots. Ronnie Black ('84 winner) and Tom Sieckmann ('88) slipped in with 140s. Calvin Peete ('82-'83) had a 138, John Mahaffey ('81) had a 137 and Fuzzy Zoeller ('86) made the cut with a 136. Zoeller will go directly from the 18th hole to NBC's telecast booth this afternoon. The network's coverage of the ABGC is from 4:30-6 p.m. this afternoon, then 4 p.m. to conclusion Sunday.

LUCKY CADDY?

Tournament leader Mike Hulbert's caddy this weekend is Bill Poole, who normally carries the bag for Paul Azinger, winner of last week's Hartford Open. Azinger is preparing for next weekend's British Open.

QUOTE-UNQUOTE

"I didn't think we were at Kingsmill this morning. It was cool and misty, and looked like the British Open." - Tim Simpson after Friday's 34-33_67 left him three shots behind leader Mike Hulbert.

"Uh-oh ... that's a bad name for a golf tournament." - second-place Tim Norris, pushing away a can of Slice cola in the interview room.

"It was the worst putt you've ever seen. Ray Charles must have hit it for me. It was just pathetic... really and truly." - Don Shirey, describing how he missed a short birdie putt on the par-5 7th hole